Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

The M.A. in TESOL program prepares students to teach English to speakers of other languages both in English speaking and non-English speaking environments. As a foundation for language teaching, the program introduces the study of linguistic structure (phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics), the study of language use in social contexts, and the study of second language acquisition encompassing different theoretical frameworks (e.g., linguistic, cognitive, pragmatic, sociocultural, and input-interactionist). This fundamental knowledge offers students a solid background for understanding practical aspects of language teaching, such as teaching methods, assessment, and curriculum and materials development. Throughout the program, students are challenged to approach various issues in language teaching (e.g., age of acquisition, cultural difference) creatively and critically by incorporating theoretical understanding.

Students have the opportunity to work with faculty with a wide range of TESOL/Linguistics specializations and on numerous languages. Students have the opportunity to present at local and national conferences, apply for research grants and publish their research in academic venues. Scholarships, grants and assistantships support many of our graduate students as they pursue their program.

Some research topics of the Linguistics faculty and students include TESOL, communicative teaching methods, second language reading and vocabulary acquisition, the teaching of reading, the teaching of grammar, pragmatics, and psycholinguistics. Faculty and student research has included work on Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, and Romance languages.